Probably most people see the accountant as the person who tells you how much tax you must pay. “Here is your BAS, now pay it – here is your company or personal returns, now pay it”.
To give the accountants their dues, there is often a lot to get to that point. The guide (just the guide) to our tax laws is thousands of pages and all the fringe taxes that come federally and from the state.
But canny and clever people ask what all these numbers mean. How can my business improve?
In 1987 American Airlines said it saved $40,000 by eliminating a single olive from every first-class passenger’s salad. An accountant would have figured that out as well as endless other savings. Those who fly would also know that a cost boffin created the “extra” charges and annoying additions that occur when you want an airline ticket.
I tell all our clients, and anyone in business or must complete even a personal tax return that those numbers are the evidence of how you run your finances. From these facts, you can dramatically change your financial situation one small change at a time.
At Your Business Angels, we always complete the tax work, lodge on time, negotiate payment terms and argue the case for many clients. But the real value comes when we sit down with all our clients and say, “how can we have more money at the bottom of the page for you”.
The accounts are the first part of the evidence. Our clients add in information and stories about their market, the nature of their clients, how long and how trusted they are so that a matrix can be completed to improve the business. It’s a quick process, and part of our service.
No question running a business is a grind. Hard work mixed with an understanding of what makes a business profitable makes all the difference.
Let me give you a simple example. “Grump” owned a coffee shop in Box Hill near our Melbourne office. I would sit down with a friend to have coffee, and even before we got comfortable, we had two mugs of coffee on the table. No menus, just coffee. Then we would get the menu and order breakfast.
People are creatures of habit. I have a flat white one sugar every time. So why, when I sit in most coffee shops, I am handed a menu and wait before my coffee order is taken rather than when I sit down.
Getting back to grump, his staff always sold us and everyone else a second coffee. We calculated this was netting him an extra $600 a day, five days a week.
Think your business, no matter how big or small can’t be improved? Maybe you should sit with us at Your Business Angels and find out.
